The Man for the Job
by greengrass1914
Summary: How necessary was Carth to the Star Forge mission? To Revan? A K1 oneshot.


_A/N:__So I'm retired from fanfic but this gizka wouldn't stop bothering me. It spawned from the KFM "What if" challenge a million years ago, and I never got around to writing it. I can stop any time I want to, really. . ._

**THE MAN FOR THE JOB**

"Frack, Mission, I have no idea where the hyperdrive spanners are. I'm not an engine mechanic. Go ask Revan where she stores them." I turned back to the schematics of the debris field on Rakata's beach.

"She's already left for the temple, bantha-brains. And besides, she told me to have you do it." I looked back up in time to catch the girl flicking her lekku nervously.

I raised an eyebrow. "Did she, now? Then I guess you won't mind if I comm her and ask where—" I made a show of pulling out the comm terminal.

"No, no, don't do that," Mission blurted. "I'll find them myself." She backed hurriedly out of the cockpit, face flushing a guilty purple.

Mission might be a street rat, but she was bright enough to know that getting Revan involved in ship arguments was never a good idea. Especially if you were lying. I shook my head—Mission still thought she could pull one over on me, but I'd been stuck on the _Hawk_ with her long enough to know when she was lying. I'm not entirely sure why she still tries to get away with it—it's like she thinks she's dealing with someone else entirely. But, hell, she's not the only one who seems to think that.

Have you ever felt like you've taken the place of someone else? As if you're supposed to be doing something entirely different than what you're actually doing, and somehow the universe made a mistake and put you where you're not supposed to be? Like you've been handed the wrong script and you're reading the part of the romantic hero when you were just supposed to be part of the opening number? Have you ever felt that way?

I do, all the time.

* * *

It all started on the _Endar Spire_, that clunker of a cruiser that was supposed to be another safe, battle-free posting. I'd managed to keep away from major combat, both at the end of the Mandalorian War and now in this one. Of course, you might wonder why I was still in the service at all if I was so battle-averse. Hell, I only joined up in the first place to pay for law school, but somehow three years bled into ten, and then it was easier to just stay where I was than to try something new. The brass thought I was a lifer—it's amazing how easily they'll fall for patriotic battle cries and assume you bleed Republic colors like they do—but the truth is I was just lazy. Lazy and safe, to that point. 

But my luck ran out on that milk run to Dantooine. We wound up on the bad end of a Sith gunnery array and before I knew it, I was dragging my rookie bunkmate toward the escape pods. We'd almost gotten there when things really went to hell. A Sith with a bald head and nasty expression started running our way, and before I could think about it, I'd grabbed my bunkmate's vibroblade and jammed it into the keypad for the door lock. The door shut in the Sith's angry face and the girl and I ran on toward the escape bays.

I swear to you, it felt like the universe shifted on its axis at that point. Like an important decision had been made incorrectly and now everything was fracked backward. I didn't have time to contemplate philosophy, though, because we finally arrived at the escape bay.

Captain Onasi was waiting for us there. Did he look dismayed to see the two of us come in? I've never been able to decide. Whatever he felt, he hid it quickly.

"The pods only hold two," he said, gesturing to the open door with his blaster. "You two get in and I'll blast you off. You, soldier," he said, pointing at me, "remember your training and try to keep the pod level when you land. Find Bastila Shan immediately and protect her with your life if necessary."

I saluted and made for what was clearly the last pod while the girl tried to convince Onasi to squeeze in with us. He practically had to shove her into the pod, but she finally acquiesced and started to strap in. Onasi saluted us out and then we were gone.

My bunkmate looked at me worriedly. "Do you think he'll be okay?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow at her naivety and equivocated as the _Spire_ blew to pieces above us. "He won't let himself be captured, that's for sure." Everyone knew that Captain Onasi had a deathwish. Looked like the universe finally saw fit to grant it. I held out my hand in greeting. "I'm Trask Ulgo, by the way."

* * *

"Ulgo!" the Mandalorian shouted from outside the ship. "Get out here and bring your blaster!" 

I checked the exterior sensors, expecting to see a battle, but there was only the empty beach and the old Jedi. I saved my search for useful debris and made my way outside. The Mandalorian was decked out in full armor, helm to boot, and the old man was standing by impatiently.

"We're going after her," Bindo said, tapping his fingers on his lightsaber.

Sure we were. The old man probably had a bad feeling in his little toe about the future. "She specifically told all of us to stay here—" I started.

"It doesn't matter what she said!" Bindo exclaimed. "If we don't go to her right now, something terrible will happen. We have to prevent that at all costs."

"Show some courage, Ulgo," Ordo taunted. "A true warrior protects what belongs to him or a better man will take it." He bared his teeth in a leering challenge.

Of course Revan and I were sleeping together. It was funny, because she wasn't really my type, and she didn't seem especially attracted to me. We weren't in love; we were barely even friends, but one thing led to another and there it was, as if it had all been scripted out. Personally, I think she was just doing it to piss off Jedi Shan, but I wasn't going to complain about her motivation. She liked it, I liked it, and it made Ordo crazy to have to listen to it every night.

I unholstered my blaster and gestured for Bindo to take the lead. "Fine, let's go to the temple." The old Jedi's words concerned me, but I didn't know what we thought we were going to do—if Revan herself was in trouble, we'd be lucky to run away and hope we didn't die. But there I was, jogging to keep up with an old man who certainly shouldn't be able to move as fast as he was, wondering for the thousandth time why I was still here.

But hell, who knows why anyone does anything? Motivation is just another way to justify your mistakes after everything is fracked to hell.

* * *

It was after the _Leviathan_ that I realized what a colossal mistake the Jedi had made when they decided to turn Revan into their puppet. She found me in the cockpit after we escaped to hyperspace. 

"So it doesn't bother you that you've been fracking the Dark Lord?" she asked by way of greeting. She slid into the copilot seat and propped her feet up on the instrument panel.

I shrugged. "Should I invent a dead family to blame you for? Or invoke Republic warpowers and arrest you? You know I was just getting a paycheck in the Fleet. Hell, if anyone should be ready to take you out, it's Ordo."

"He's too busy worshipping the deckplates under my boots." She smirked. "Mandalorians turn into such puppies after they're defeated."

I involuntarily glanced at the open door leading to the rest of the ship. Revan might not fear Ordo's wrath, but I didn't fancy getting vivisected for mocking his honor. "Look, Revan," I said, "I've been dragging around the galaxy with you for three months now and I'm still not sure why I didn't get out on Dantooine when I had the chance. But I didn't, and I'm not going to bail out of this mission before we get the reward."

"And here I thought you were doing it because we loved each other." She paused just long enough for me to worry that she was serious, then burst into laughter. "Don't bother pretending, Trask, I can always tell when you're lying." Her laughter trailed off as she stared out into the hyperspace lines. "I can't believe they thought they could just use me like that," she said quietly. Dangerously. "And it almost worked."

I raised an eyebrow. "Almost?"

Revan acted as if she didn't hear me, a troubled expression on her face. "Back on Dantooine, I had the feeling that I had some kind of huge destiny in front of me, and I guess now I know why. I think I'm going to have to answer an important question very soon. I just wish I knew what the question will be or what the right answer is."

Ever gotten the feeling the universe is prodding you to say something, do something? I had it, right then. "I want to give you a reason to make the right decision," I almost said. But that's not something I would say, at all. It's just not the kind of man I am. But it felt like the right thing to say.

I was still frozen there with my mouth open when she left the cockpit.

* * *

"I thought non-Force users weren't supposed to enter the temple," I commented, stepping over a couple of droid corpses in the Rakatan catacombs. I was getting more and more uncomfortable as we followed Revan's trail through the temple. Something was wrong, and not in a vague-Jedi-feeling way. I was becoming increasingly sure that I wasn't supposed to be here at all. 

Bindo sounded uncharacteristically solemn. "I think the Force has something for you to do," he said.

That was the last thing I wanted to hear. "You'd better tell the Force it has the wrong man for the job, then," I said.

"That's for damn sure," Ordo muttered.

I ignored him. "Listen, Bindo, I hope you don't think I'm going to—"

The old man stopped dead and turned to face me. "Kid, I've kept my mouth shut for the last month because Revan obviously thinks there's something worthwhile about you. I think you're a weak, selfish, barely-useful grunt who stumbled into this mission and is still alive only because we keep saving your ass in battles." Ordo started laughing but shut up quick at a look from Bindo. Bindo continued his tirade, jabbing his finger toward me. "Understand this, Ulgo. Revan is either the last best hope for the Light in this universe, or she'll bring the final triumph of the Dark. And everything,_everything_ comes down to what she does on this temple summit. She's on the edge, and if you have something to keep her on our side, you'd better use it."

I laughed outright at that. "Old man, you know as well as I do that Revan doesn't give one damn about the Council, the Republic, or me. But that doesn't mean she's about to fall to the Dark side."

Bindo grabbed my arm. I tried to yank it back, but his grip was as unyielding as a droid's. "You're right," he said. "She doesn't care, and that's _exactly_ why she's going to fall to the Dark side if you don't stop her. This all comes down to you, kid. You have to give her a reason to care about something bigger than herself."

_But I'm not supposed to be here, _I wanted to shout at him. _The universe got it wrong._ But saying what we all knew wouldn't do any good. I finally got my arm free from the Jedi's desperate grasp and started up the steps. "Come on, then."

The light at the top of the temple was gray and bright. I blinked and shaded my eyes against the sun, finally able to make out two figures on the other side of the summit. Revan was facing the stairway, her yellow blade extended defensively against the other figure. As usual, Revan looked entirely calm, not a trace of anxiety or doubt in her ability to dominate the battle.

The other figure called out, "You're too late, Jolee." The figure had its back to us, but that posh Core accent couldn't be anyone except Bastila Shan. She stepped to the side so she could hold her blade toward us while keeping her eye on Revan. Her face was stark white except for the hint of gray coloring the hollows around her eyes.

"You've fallen," Bindo said, sighing. He finally lit his blade and held it out, not toward Shan but toward Revan. "Have you?" he asked her.

I expected Revan to either take his head off or laugh at him, depending on whether she had fallen or not. Silence was the last thing I thought I would hear. She was standing dead still, the targeting visor she habitually wore shoved uselessly over her head. Her eyes were darting from Bindo to Shan and occasionally over to me and Ordo. It was something I never thought I would see—Revan, undecided.

That feeling of wrongness crashed back into me and it was all I could do to keep standing there. This was worse than on the _Spire_, worse than after the _Leviathan_, worse than it had been inside the temple. Bindo and Shan were trading barbs, each trying to persuade Revan to choose their alignment, but it was all background buzz to me. I was supposed to do something here, I was supposed to tell Revan that I loved her and knew that there was still good inside of her and that I would do whatever it took to help her find it.

"Ulgo," Bindo cried, "do it now! You can still save her!"

I hesitated. This wasn't me, this wasn't what I would say—hell, it wasn't what I felt. Surely the universe knew better, surely things weren't fracked so badly that I was the only one who could keep Revan from turning back into Darth Revan. But if the old man was right, then I had to say it whether I felt it or not.

"Revan, I—" I began.

"Don't lie to me, Trask," Revan said quietly. Was that a plea in her eyes? A plea for what?

I closed my mouth.

Revan nodded, as if confirming a decision, then slowly turned her blade away from Shan and toward Bindo. Before the old man could move, Ordo put a blaster bolt through his head. Bindo fell without making a sound, his body turning to dust under his robes.

I stood frozen, hand halfway to my blaster. Had Revan and Ordo been planning this the whole time? But I looked again at Revan and knew that the old man had been right—she hadn't fallen yet when we arrived at the summit. There was a universe in which she never fell, a universe in which she turned her back on the Dark and leapt for the Light because someone was there to pull her up. But it was not this universe.

Revan strode past me, and there was no longer any doubt in her step. She stopped at the staircase and smiled back at us, the same half-smile she'd always had, but now it was calculated, cold. "Let's go. I have an empire to reclaim." She started down the stairs without looking to see if we were following.

_Wrongwrongwrongwrong_, the universe screamed in my head. Revan had made her decision, answered the important question she had felt coming, and I knew in my heart that she had answered it wrong. Maybe I could still—

No. I was tired of feeling miscast in my own life. I'd made the only decisions _I_ could have made, and I could live with them. Maybe someone else would have done better, but I was the only man standing in my boots. The universe would just have to get used to it.

I followed the Dark Lord back to the _Hawk_.

**END**


End file.
